April 15, 2005 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest nearly rallied from a 10-run deficit and brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning, but NC State closer Joey Devine slammed the door in the ninth inning as the Wolfpack held off the Demon Deacons, 11-9, in ACC baseball action from Hooks Stadium Friday afternoon. Trailing 11-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh, Wolfpack reliever Matt Payne proceeded to walk the first four batters of the inning on 16 consecutive pitches. After Sam Walls replaced Payne, senior Ben Ingold grounded into a double play that scored the second run of the inning to make it 11-3. Senior J.B. Tucker struckout swinging to end the inning and a great opportunity seemed to go by the wayside, but the Deacs would mount another rally in the bottom of the eighth inning. After senior Ryder Mathias popped out to start the eighth, redshirt sophomore Brendan Enick walked. Senior Matt Miller walked, but junior Casey Sterk followed with a lazy fly to right field. With two outs, redshirt junior Grant Achilles pinch hit for freshman Andy Goff and promptly drew a walk. Freshman Brett Linnenkohl then hit a ball up the middle that NC State second basemen Ramon Corona fielded, but his throw to retire Achilles at second base was wild, which not only extended the inning, but also allowed Enick to score. Walls then picked up the ball and his attempt to get Enick at home sailed wide, which allowed Miller to score from third base.
With the score now 11-5, Adam McLaurin came in for Walls and walked sophomore Matt Antonelli, but ball four sailed all the way to the backstop which allowed Achilles to score and Linnenkohl advanced to third base. With runners on the corners and the Deacs now trailing, 11-6, Ingold laced an RBI single scoring Linnenkohl to bring Wake Forest within four runs, 11-7. Tucker followed with an RBI single to make it 11-8 and senior Ryder Mathias came to the plate as the tying run.
Mathias followed with the Deacs' third consecutive RBI single off the inning and all of a sudden Wake Forest was within two runs, 11-9, and the winning run came to the plate in Enick. The first basemen nearly made it 11-10, but NC State shortstop Jonathan Diaz made a nice running play into shallow left field to end the rally. Devine would retire the Deacs 1-2-3 in the ninth to record his seventh save of the season. Devine is a perfect 7-for-7 on the season in save opportunities. Jeff Stallings (5-3) was solid for the Wolfpack in a winning effort. The right-handed hurler went 6.0 innings and allowed just one earned run on four hits. He also struckout a career-high seven and walked just one. NC State improves to 26-10 overall and 8-8 in the ACC, while the Deacs fall to 15-20 overall and 8-11 in the conference. Wake Forest starter Josh Ellis (4-4) was charged with the loss. The sophomore pitched just 3.2 innings and allowed six runs, only two earned, on nine hits. The start was Ellis' shortest outing since going just 3.0 innings on Feb. 26 against Cincinnati. The right-hander walked three and struckout a pair. Senior Kip Byrum came on for Ellis and tossed 5.1 excellent innings of relief. The southpaw limited the Wolfpack to a pair of earned runs on just three hits. The 5.1 innings was the longest outing of Byrum's career. Byrum has worked 10.1 innings over his last three appearances and allowed just two earned runs, good for a 1.74 ERA during the stretch. Tucker was the lone Demon Deacon with more than one hit. The catcher went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. Antonelli, Ingold, Mathias and Enick all added a hit and RBI. All nine runs for Wake Forest were scored by different Demon Deacons. NC State designated hitter Aaron Cone went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Matt Camp, Aaron Bates, Lee Mezistrano and Bryan Kinneberg all added two hits. Wake Forest and the Wolfpack return to action Saturday afternoon with game two of the ACC series. Sophomore Charlie Mellies will take the mound for the Demon Deacons. First-pitch at Hooks Stadium is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. -- WakeForestSports.com -- |
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